I don't think anyone (including Mueller) anticipated that any of the defendants would appear in court to defend against the charges. Rather, the Mueller prosecutors seem to have obtained the indictment to serve a public relations purpose, laying out the case for interference as understood by the government and lending a veneer of respectability to the Mueller Switch Project. One of the Russian corporate defendants nevertheless hired counsel to contest the charges. In April two Washington-area attorneys - Eric Dubelier and Kate Seikaly of the Reed Smith firm - filed appearances in court on behalf of Concord Management and Consulting. Josh Gerstein covered that turn of events for Politico here. -Powerline Blog